M3IS6 


Horace  Mann- and 
M.  Hale  Smith 


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HORACE  MANN  AND  I.  HALE  SMITH. 


At  the  close  of  a  pamphlet  of  fifty-six  pages,  enti- 
tled "  Sequel,"  &c.,  Mr.  Mann,  with  great  official 
importance,  took  leave  of  the  undersigned.  He  had 
learned  so  much  of  my  character  and  standing,  as  to 
render  it  useless  to  notice  me  farther.  The  friends 
of  the  Secretary  shouted  that  "  Mr.  Smith  was  used 
up."  "Great  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation ! "  went  up  from  all  the  craft.  From  Mr. 
Smith's  fate,  let  all  take  warning  how  they  touch  the 
"  indefatigable,"  "  the  resistless  Secretary." 

But  not  having  done  quite  so  much  as  was  antici- 
pated, Mr.  Mann  has  made  another  addition  to  the 
"  yellow-covered  "  literature  of  the  day,  in  a  letter  of 
twenty-two  pages,  to  "  Rev.  Matthew  Hale  Smith." 

The  pamphlet  is  a  curiosity,  in  its  way.  The 
author  wishes  to  show  that  he  is  a  very  good  man, 
by  attempting  to  prove  that  I  am  a  very  bad  man. 
By  the  attempt  to  lower  my  character,  he  hopes  to 
raise  his  own.  He  proves  that  he  is  a  believer  in  the 
canonical  Scriptures,  in  the  discipline  of  the  Bible,  in 
something  more  and  better  than  Deism,  by  proving, 
conclusively,  that  I  once  professed  to  believe  in  ultra- 
Universalism,  but  am  now  a  Calvinist.  It  is  amusing 
to  hear  the  friends  of  the  Secretary  talk  of  him  as  a 
"  tremendous  writer."  So  is  a  Billingsgate  woman, 
with  a  basket  of  fish  upon  her  head,  a  "  tremendous 
talker."  The  elements  of  power  are  the  same  in 
each.  A  collision  is  to  be  dreaded  in  either  case,  for 


similar  reasons.     If  any  one  is  in  doubt,  let  him  read 
this  letter  of  Mr.  Mann. 

I  shall  notice  but  two  things  in  the  pamphlet. 
The  one  personal  to  myself —  the  other  relating  to 
the  Normal  School  at  West  Newton. 


PERSONAL  TO  MYSELF. 

On  page  12,  I  find  the  following  : 

MR.  SMITH'S  "  BOWLING  "  :  —  First  preached 
against ;  then  committed ;  then  confessed  to  his 
Church  ;  then  denied  to  the  world. 

That  I  preached  against  bowling,  and  then  prac- 
ticed it,  is  a  falsehood.  That  I  ever  confessed  to 
my  Church  what  I  denied  to  the  world,  is  another 
falsehood.  In  his  Sequel,  Mr.  Mann  insinuated  that 
I  was  in  the  habit  of  "  bowling  Sunday  mornings  and 
evenings."  He  intended  to  make  such  an  impres- 
sion ;  he  did  make  it.  Now,  he  pretends  to  have 
had  no  such  intentions.  He  presents  two  other 
falsehoods,  more  infamous  than  the  first. 

In  the  early  part  of  August,  1843,  I  was  at  the 
famous  watering-place  at  Hampton  Beach.  At  the 
invitation  of  some  townsmen,  I  went  out  and  rolled 
at  ten-pins,  for  exercise,  a  short  time.  At  that  time, 
I  had  not  given  the  question  a  consideration,  whether 
such  an  exercise,  under  such  circumstances,  purely 
for  purposes  of  health,  was,  or  was  not,  proper.  I 
knew  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for  gentlemen  of  my 
profession  to  take  such  exercise.  In  the  Winter  fol- 
lowing, I  found  it  necessary  to  rebuke  certain  pro- 
fessors of  religion,  who  were  "  lovers  of  pleasure, 
more  than  of  God."  On  the  23d  day  of  December, 
almost  jive  months  after  my  visit  to  Hampton,  \ 


preached  from  2  Cor.  vi :  17,  18.  Lest  the  force 
of  my  appeal  should  be  lost,  I  resolved  to  reprove 
myself  for  having  once  been  caught  in  the  devil's 
society,  since  I  "  put  off  the  old  man  and  his  deeds." 
And  this  I  did  by  saying,  "  A  ball-room  is  no  place 
for  a  Christian ;  a  bowling-saloon  is  no  place  for  a 
minister  of  the  gospel."  Such  is  the  simple  story, 
and  all  the  story.  The  Secretary  has  given  to  the 
;  public  two  different  versions  of  this  matter.  Let 
him  try  again. 

"  I  have  been  told  "  that  Mr.  Mann  was  bred  to 

S 

the  law,  though  by  it  he  was  scarcely  able  to  get  his 
own  bread.  In  the  few  cases  committed  to  his  care, 
he  learned  to  estimate  the  advantage  of  diverting  at- 
tention from  the  real  issue.  Suppose  all  he  had  as- 
serted were  true,  would  it  vindicate  him  ?  Would  it 
prove  that  he  is  not  a  dangerous,  designing  man  ? 
Whether  this  allusion  to  myself  will  pay  the  Secre- 
tary for  the  expense  and  trouble  of  sending  to 
Nashua  to  get  the  information  he  has  published,  he 
must  decide. 

THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

In  allusion  to  my  visit  to  the  State  School  at  West 
Newton,  I  said,  in  page  6  of  my  "  Reply  "  : 

"But  'to  spy  out  the  lapd '  I  went,  if  Mr.  Mann 
is  to  be  believed.  Then  I  was  singularly  unfortunate 
in  the  time  I  selected.  1  should  have  gone  '  incog.,' 
to  a  recent  exhibition  of  that  pattern  State  school  — 
I  should  have  looked  upon  some  of  those  ladies,  can- 
didates for  emolument  and  fame,  as  pupils  of  the 
Normal  School,  taking  lessons  in  propriety  and  deli- 
cacy, by  wearing  the  garb  of  young  men ;  I  should 
have  beheld  the  lady  assistant  of  that  school,  deepen- 


ing  those  impressions  of  delicacy,  by  appearing  before 
the  school  with  arms,  feet,  &c.,  apparently  bare, 
though  daubed  with  paint.  I  say  apparently,  for  the 
covering  worn,  if  any,  looked  so  like  the  skin,  that 
the  deception  was  perfect  to  the  eye.  I  should  then, 
as  did  the  men  of  old,  have  spied  out  the  '  nakedness 

of  the  land.' " 

• 

In  the  Boston  Courier,  of  March  25,  Mr.  Cyrus 
Pierce,  the  Principal,  charges  me  with  "  hyperbole 
and  gross  misrepresentation."  Under  the  wing  of 
the  Secretary,  in  this  letter,  Mr.  Pierce  waxes 
warmer  and  warmer.  He  pronounces  the  above  the 
"  blackest  of  his  [my]  calumnies  —  the  most  devilish 
of  them  a//."  (The  Principal  of  the  pattern  school 
should  not  swear!)  If  1  have  misrepresented,  why 
does  not  Mr.  Pierce  give  me  the  true  version  ?  For 
the  simple  reason  that  he  dare  not  do  so  ;  for  in  so 
doing,  he  would  falsify  his  own  correction.  If  I  have 
misrepresented,  then  let  unmeasured  censure  fall  upon 
my  head.  "  Mark  now,-"  Mr.  Pierce,  "  how  a  plain 
tale  shall  put  you  down." 

At  the  close  of  the  Fall  Term  of  the  Normal 
School,  at  West  Newton,  a  Tableau  was  got  up 
among  some  of  the  scholars,  and  Miss  Lincoln  and 
Mrs.  Pierce.  The  exhibition  was  held  in  the  Normal 
school-house  ;  all  the  school  attended,  except  a  few 
persons.  Nine  gentlemen  were  present  ;  among 
whom  the  bar-keeper  of  the  tavern  and  the  Princi- 
pal of  the  school  were  conspicuous.  Five  scenes 
were  enacted.  No.  1 — "BEFORE  MARRIAGE."  A 
young  lady  of  the  senior  class,  dressed  in  a  complete 
suit  of  gentleman's  apparel,  represented  the  lover. 
No.  2 —  "  MARRIAGE."  The  depot-master,  in  gown 
and  bands,  represented  the  priest ;  a  young  lady,  in 
full  costume  of  a  man,  represented  the  bridegroom. 


No.  3  —  "AFTER  MARRIAGE."  The  female  gentle- 
man at  home,  with  his  "  heels  as  high  as  the  chair, 
or  higher."  No.  4 — -  LITTLE  PIECE  OF  POPERY; 
nuns  taking  the  veil.  No.  5  —  POCAHONTAS.  A 
young  lady,  dressed  as  a  man,  in  a  reclining  position, 
represented  Captain  Smith  ;  the  lady  Principal,  with 
shoulders  bare,  naked  arms  and  neck,  but  painted, 
with  clothes  reaching  just  below  the  knees,  stockings 
of  Indian-skin  color,  with  a  position  more  disgusting 
than  the  dress  itself,  represented  Powhatan.  The 
whole  ended  with  a  dance,  in  which  the  young  keep- 
er of  the  bar-room  and  the  young  lady  who  teaches 
the  model-school  waltzed,  to  the  mutual  satisfaction 
of  each  other  and  of  the  Principal ;  for  at  the  close, 
Mr.  Pierce  praised  the  young  ladies  for  acting  their 
parts  so  Well !  These  facts  are  known  to  some  of 
the  members  of  the  Board  of  Education.  I  have 
documentary  evidence  before  me,  while  I  write. 
Even  Miss  Lincoln  has  admitted  the  general  truth  of 
my  original  statement.  Soon  after  I  published  it, 
she  read  her  journal  to  the  school,  and  in  self-defence 
said,  "  She  should  not  hesitate  to  do  the  same  thing 
again,  under  similar  circumstances." 

There  are  one  or  two  things  in  regard  to  the  Nor- 
mal school  at  West  Newton  which  ought  to  be 
known.  Mr.  Mann  has  once  or  twice  referred  to  the 
fact,  as  he  calls  it,  that  three-fourths  of  the  present 
common  school  teachers  in  the  State  are  orthodox. 
His  statistics  show  that  he  has  closely  looked  at  this 
matter.  A  remedy  for  so  great  an  evil  is  to  be  found 
in  Normal  schools.  The  pupils  for  the  last  season,  at 
West  Newton,  have  ranged  from  forty  to  eighty, 
making  an  average  of  sixty.  Of  this  number  but 
two  are  known  to  be  orthodox  communicants,  and 
only  six  to  be  favorable  to  evangelical  sentiments. 
The  originator  of  this  schoor,  contends  that  nothing 


6 

above  the  lowest  form  of  Deism  can  be  taught  in  any 
common  school  in  the  State,  as  the  principles  of  pie- 
ty. The  head  of  that  school,  if  common  fame  does  not 
misrepresent  him,  in  theology  is  a  Parkerite.  His 
theory  of  discipline  would  cause  him  to  turn  a  boy 
out  of  school  rather  than  use  the  rod.  The  loose- 
ness of  moral  principle,  attendant  upon  such  senti- 
ments, have  been  developed  at  West  Newton.  At 
the  beginning  of  last  season,  the  mass  of  the  school 
did  not  go  to  church  or  keep  the  Sabbath — some  on 
that  sacred  season  made  it  a  sort  of  gala  day — some 
washed,  and  others  ironed.  At  one  time  it  seemed  as 
if  the  opening  of  that  school  in  West  Newton  was 
the  opening  of  Pandora's  box.  The  condition  of 
things  called  up  certain  members  of  the  Board  of 
Education.  They  gave  laws  on  the  subject  of  keep- 
ing the  Sabbath.  The  school  debated  the  matter, 
and  resolved  that  they  would  do  as  they  pleased.  A 
compromise  was  made,  and  the  circular  of  Mr.  Pierce 
went  out,  making  it  obligatory  upon  the  scholars  to  go 
to  church  one  half  the  day,  on  the  Sabbath,  and  the 
rest  of  the  day  do  as  they  pleased.  And  this  is  the 
model  State  school — supported  by  funds  paid  out  of 
the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth.  Five  hundred 
Normalites  are  already  abroad.  Sixty  more  are 
nearly  ready.  These  must  have  the  pre-eminence 
over  others.  They  will  go  out  under  the  influence  of 
the  Secretary.  In  five  years  what  will  be  the  condi- 
tion of  the  common  schools  in  this  ancient  Common- 
wealth ? 

In  an  appendix  to  his  letter, — which  was  added  to 
some  of  the  copies,  and  carefully  kept  out  of  others, 
— Mr.  Mann  boasts,  that  the  vote  recently  passed  by 
the  Legislature,  making  an  appropriation  to  the  Nor- 
mal school,  is  a  triumph  over  "  Mr.  Smith  and  his 
friends.'5  "  Mr.  Smith  and  his  friends "  say  this, 
that  if  the  people  of  the  State  are  content  to  vote 


away  their  money,  to  sustain  dancing  in  school- 
houses — exhibitions  in  which  women  are  stripped  to 
their  skin,  and  the  other  influences  that  go  out  from 
that  school,  then  let  the  fact  be  known.  I  am 
obliged  to  Mr.  Mann  for  the  issue  he  makes  before 
the  people.  We  will  meet  him  on  that  issue. 

In  my  correspondence,  I  feel  that  1  have  done  the 
State  some  service.  Not  so  much  by  what  I  have 
written,  as  what  Mr.  Mann  has  been  compelled  to 
write.  He  is  much  better  known  to  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  than  he  was  when  he  asked,  "  Who  is 
Matthew  Hale  Smith  ?  "  I  excuse  all  the  abusive 
language  he  has  employed  in  respect  to  myself,  for 
the  benefit  the  State  will  derive  from  knowing  Mr. 
Mann  so  well.  Satan  is  most  to  be  feared  when  he 
puts  on  the  garb  of  an  angel  of  light,  and  takes  on 
himself  the  appearance  of  a  minister  of  righteous- 
ness. A  distinguished  citizen  of  Boston,  soon  after 
the  "  Sequel "  was  published,  said  to  me,  "  I  hope 
you  will  keep  Mr.  Mann  writing  pamphlets  ;  a  few 
more  such  as  this  from  his  pen  will  save  the  State 
from  his  pernicious  influence." 

Mr.  Mann  has  once  or  twice  alluded  to  the  distin- 
guished men  with  whom  he  has  been  officially  asso- 
ciated. It  is  evident  that  such  associates  have  not 
improved  his  manners.  It  remains  to  be  seen  wheth- 
er he  will  corrupt  theirs.  Driven  to  the  wall,  the 
Secretary  has  sought  new  allies.  He  has  opened  a 
communication  between  himself  and  the  Trumpet 
office.  He  needs  weapons  ;  they  want  a  medium  of 
utterance.  The  Trumpet  office  is  to  furnish  matter, 
and  Mr.  Mann  is  to  give  it  to  the  world.  When  I 
left  the  ranks  of  the  Universalists,  in  1840,  and  gave 
my  reasons  for  so  doing,  the  sect  Commenced  an  as- 
sault upon  me.  They  have  kept  it  up  till  now.  But 
a  new  page  was  opened  to  them  in  the  correspond- 


8 

ence  of  Mr.  Mann.  The  stale  stories,  the  vile  in- 
sinuations, in  the  Secretary's  letter,  bespeak  their 
origin.  He  can  find  any  quantity  of  such  matter  in 
the  files  of  the  Trumpet ;  and  in  becoming  a  retailer 
of  second-hand  scandals,  which  have  originated  in 
the  Trumpet  office,  he  will  find  an  employment  bet- 
ter suited  to  his  cast  of  mind,  better  suited  to  his 
"  accomplished  "  mode  of  doing  business,  than  in  at- 
tempting to  decide  what  the  constitution  means  by 
"  principles  of  piety."  I  leave  him  in  the  fraternal 
embrace  of  his  new  allies,  giving  him  full  permission 
to  print  any  thing  relating  to  me  personally  that  he 
pleases,  on  the  condition  that  he  will  put  his  name  to 
what  he  writes,  that  the  bane  and  the  antidote  may 
then  go  together. 

I  am  not  so  rnuch  a  stranger  to  Boston  as  Mr. 
Mann  would  represent.  My  childhood  was  passed  in 
the  town  of  Boston.  I  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  town  and  city.  The  greater  part  of 
my  life  has  been  passed  in  Boston  or  immediate  vi- 
cinity. I  consider  Mr.  Mann  officially  a  bad  man — 
bad  in  his  theory  and  unscrupulous  in  the  modes  by 
which  it  is  extended.  If  he  is  not  checked,  and  that 
right  early,  a  lasting  blight  will  settle  down  upon  the 
fair  heritage  of  New  England.  There  is  hope  yet. 
Mr.  Mann  and  his  theories  and  their  influence  are 
becoming  well  known.  I  leave  both  to  the  verdict  of 
a  moral  and  religious  people.  To  them  I  propose 
this  sentiment — "  Horace  Mann, *as  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Education — Psalm  109  :  8th  verse." 

MATTHEW  HALE  SMITH. 

Boston,  April  30th,  1847. 


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